There's actors who live outside these boundaries obviously, but if you're new to town, these are your best bets.

Outside of these boundaries it's either too far (west side - too much traffic to get in/out), too expensive (west side, hancock park, hollywood hills), too sketch (parts of Hollywood), too ethnic for newcomers (Koreatown), or too patchy (some streets are good but some are bad, but you need to be local here to know - Echo Park, Hollywood, further north in the valley)

For anyone who is willing to answer - which is the more walkable neighborhood (many errands can be done on foot): Los Feliz, or West Hollywood? Do they have drastically different "vibes"? I'd appreciate any and all additional insight! This thread is fantastic.

Weho is a broader area. Weho encompasses de facto Beverly Hills type situations, wasteland stretches of Santa Monica, uber gay town, places that are basically just Hollywood, etc. Overall Weho is more upscale, more central, more strip-mally in parts, more trafficked. It's nice. Some of the streets and homes are spiffy. You can walk it and you may pay slightly more per amenities but it's good times.

Los Feliz is essentially Hollywood Blvd and Franklin between Western and say just past Hillhurst. If you live near Hillhurst and Vermont those are great walking/eating/drinking areas. Also, you're very close to Griffith Park. It's kind of entry-level normal-kid area. Also it's halfway between downtown and west hollywood, close to I-5 and the 101, and 10-15 minutes to the 10. Weho is more landlocked. But then again you're fairly close to whatever.

Thank you so much, arrowhead! Good to know! Feel free to shirk this next question off to someone else, but is there a particular street/area in West Hollywood with lots of apartments, or are they all sort of scattered about? Are there parts of Hollywood proper that you would recommend? I would very much love to feel "central," as you put it!

Again, thanks so much for any information! Each post so far has been extremely helpful.

Just come down, don't worry, have some extra $1,000's in the bank, get a sublet or hotel for a few days or a week and do a lot of exploring. Might as well blow the $60 or whatever it is for westsiderentals too. May I stress, don't stress.

In weho a decent studio can be had for $950+ I'd say, you can get a two-bdrm roomate for $850+ each. In LF the prices are comparable, maybe $50-$150 less depending on amenities. Any less than that and you are missing something: modern fixtures, parking, area desirability, etc.

You may be tempted to sign a lease on the first few you see. Give yourself plenty of time and space to decide... it's easier to stay put than it is to move in 6-12 months.

K-Town is not the ghetto you are imagining. I've lived here for a few months and have never been robbed or had my car broken into. Sure, it's not as nice as Santa Monica, but it is affordable. It's centrally located, close to the freeways and not full of tourists (which I love). Parking can be tricky between the hours of 6 and 10. The reason for this is that there are a lot of popular restaurants here and people come in from other neighborhoods to eat the food here during these hours.

Originally posted by Richie Stephens:K-Town is not the ghetto you are imagining. I've lived here for a few months and have never been robbed or had my car broken into. Sure, it's not as nice as Santa Monica, but it is affordable. It's centrally located, close to the freeways and not full of tourists (which I love). Parking can be tricky between the hours of 6 and 10. The reason for this is that there are a lot of popular restaurants here and people come in from other neighborhoods to eat the food here during these hours.

Plus one for K Town. It's definitely more urban if you like that vibe.

There are pros/cons to every neighbourhood here. You really just have to figure out what you want - close to metro, freeways, grocery stores? Is it important to be able to walk to a coffee shop? Do you need parking? Do you want to have a local haunt close by? Do you like to be in a quieter spot? Away from the hustle and bustle? Do you want to be close to the studios? Do you need the beach nearby? There are so many options, and great options in all of the neighbourhoods and everyone has an opinion on them all.

To give a completely subjective YMMV reply to Mey's query about areas with a lot of apartments, I'd throw out these very basic parameters if you are planning on driving or walking up and down streets in "walkability" areas that are somewhere between overpriced and borderline sketch ...

West of Fuller East of FairfaxNorth of MelroseSouth of Fountain (arguably south of Sunset but I think the closer to Sunset you get, the slightly noisier and harder to street park it gets

Again, YMMV, but that's a largely residential, walkable, friendly, reasonably safe, not totally unaffordable sector. There are some single fams (especially off Melrose) but a lot of apartment buildings, from the old bungalow-style communities to the slightly more modern moderate high rise types (especially on Sierra Bonita).

Some have gated parking (you'll pay a little more but if you have a car it may be worth it) but neighborhood parking permits are affordable in WeHo and convenient street parking isn't as impossible as some people make it out to be.

How common is it for actors to live in a real suburb of LA - say a place like Corona, Riverside, Irvine, Santa Ana, etc? Or even a place like North Valley? I have no real knowledge of these area, especially North Valley.

Although it'd be great, I don't presume I'd be super busy with auditions my first lease term so I'm curious if it would be manageable to live that far outside of the city to save some initial money.

I have an 85 lb dog that will be living with me and those listed towns provide way more options for my price range and availability (obviously).

Originally posted by MichaelKruse:How common is it for actors to live in a real suburb of LA - say a place like Corona, Riverside, Irvine, Santa Ana, etc? Or even a place like North Valley? I have no real knowledge of these area, especially North Valley.

Although it'd be great, I don't presume I'd be super busy with auditions my first lease term so I'm curious if it would be manageable to live that far outside of the city to save some initial money.

I have an 85 lb dog that will be living with me and those listed towns provide way more options for my price range and availability (obviously).

It's rare from what I've seen. Some do it, but I think you'd be putting yourself at a big disadvantage. You don't want to be driving 50+ miles to go to an audition, that would be a nightmare especially if there's traffic. Plus you'd have to drive out if you're getting any coaching or taking classes too.